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54-46 Was My Number

In case it wasn't already clear, YTMND is not closing on May 1st. We've had a number of servers die over the last year, but I haven't given up on you miscreants yet.

We *do* need some new hardware though, and we're going to be doing a sponsorship drive this week to fund a new server. More details inside.

I've purchased a server (on credit, heh) for the purpose of running virtual machines. This way I can run the wiki, chat server, a db slave, the bug tracker, a development server, etc as virtual servers which will be much easier to deal with and much cheaper than dedicated servers. There are currently four dead servers, and I have no idea what to do with them, as they are from 2006-2008 and not worth more than a few hundred dollars each on ebay. Maybe we'll make them contest prizes (I just sent off MrSinistar's address to the data-center for winning this contest!).

Once this server is in place, I can retire a number of other servers which are old and failing. I'm currently hosting some stuff temporarily through EC2, which is nice, but it's too expensive for long-term hosting. Luckily with decreases in traffic and increases in server hardware capabilities, one virtualization server should be able to cover a lot of bases.

With decreases in traffic come decreases in revenue, and YTMND isn't as profitable as it used to be. Adblock usage grows steadily, and YTMND's business model was never really sustainable to begin with. YTMND is still technically profitable, but at the current rate, it would take 6-10 months to pay off the server. So at this point, YTMND is very much a labor of love (and a bit of hate). It's been a while since we've needed to do a sponsorship drive, but hopefully the few remaining users will be able to pool together some scraps to tide us over for a while (and help me avoid destroying my credit rating).

I'm starting the sponsorship drive to count any sponsorship from last month as well, since a lot of them were made with the intention of keeping YTMND alive. I am guessing we may not reach the total goal, but the less burden the cost of running YTMND lands on my personal wallet, the more likely it will be that YTMND stays up for a long time. Using the old hardware as a measurement, this server should last us at least 8 more years, assuming we can pay for hosting!

Below are the stats for the server and the current sponsorship drive goals, which I'll update manually as they change. The user with the highest total sponsorship at the end of the drive will have the opportunity to name the server. You will receive a photograph of the server (with your nametag!) as well as monthly updates on its well being, and a letter written in crayon from the server.

What we're getting:

Dual Opteron 4274 HE processors at 2.5GHz for a total core count of 16

i don't get it but what i was trying to say is that ytmnd used to make even more than 3-4 thousand dollars every 6-10 months because ytmnd is dead now and he makes 3-4 g's soooooo..... he musta been makin like 100 grand a year back then.... but hey this is all speculation so it doesnt matter... i should just erase this whole comment...

I'd actually like to get one of those. I thought about it back when the store was open but heard of complaints from people not getting them so I backed out. If we sponsor a site for a certain amount, could we request one of your leftovers?

Since I got myself a job, I'm no longer a worthless student living in my parent's basement who spends his lunch money on drugs and cheap beer, complaining about how the government is aliens and ancient worldwide conspiracy organizations are after my Sailor Moon figurines.

No wait, I never did any of that. I was a worthless student though.That is, I finally have the money to buy YTMND merch and spend money on this site not dying. If you can ship internationally, I'd buy a shirt. And a keychain. Especially the keychain.

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Did you explore doing RAID 1 with SAS on your system drive? Although you will get fast performance with this setup, SSD is still prone to failure without warning. Make sure your backup is solid OR you have a failover in place (I speak from experience.)

That's the great part about VMware; backup and recovery. SSD is still a bit cutting edge, though. In my own experience (13 years in I.T.) I have found SSD to be too unpredictable in a production environment, therefore I stick with SAS drives in RAID configurations. As firmwares and manufacturing processes improve so will the reliability of SSD, but for now I stick with what's tried and true.

Not saying you made a bad decision, you just have to be aware of the possible hardware headaches ahead and be prepared for them...and it sounds like you are. JMO.

In light of recent events, we should have a Boston Baked Beans contest. Make a site about anything Boston related; whether it's about the marathon, tea parties, the band Boston, talking dogs and bacon, etc.

This place was once a happenin' joint, a "watercooler site" if you will. People used to waste time at work forwarding YTMND's to their annoyed office colleagues. It came out at a critical time when more and more casual users were getting on the internet and looking for a source of quick single-serving entertainment. This site could have made millions, or even billions with a little vision, but now he has to beg for money to buy hardware inferior to what I put into my desktop that I rarely use. I kinda feel for bad him, really.

max how does it feel knowing you missed your chance to be Mark Zuckerberg?

If that's true liquidating those would certainly count as some fraction towards the cost. If the shirts are dead inventory why not do a PBS style "free gift" for your contribution of ___$ ... etc. Also, I think many would prefer light, proactive moderation to naming a computer... eh? eh?

Haven't worked a real job in almost a year, but I made my contribution. As for contest ideas, how about some that go back to YTMND's roots. Rules could be something like, "Must be <2000kb total" or "'Classic' style YTMNDs only" or "No animated gifs". That would help lower the bar for new users who aren't mini-.gif movie experts.

Thanks for the tip! I think for YTMNDs I've mostly been working with tools off of this list for years: http://ytmndtoolkit.ytmnd.com/ .

I agree that the more options the better! It does, though, feel like compared to the earlier days of YTMND the bar to gaining front page status has risen beyond reach for newer users. I'm sure the bigger problem is actually downvoters who discourage unfamiliar users. I just thought that running some short contests which focus less on execution and more on ideas would be a nice way to get some fresh ideas flowing.

I spent WAY too much time on the sites I made (not to mention YTMND itself) for them to disappear into the internet void forever. Even if they were optimized for IE6 and don't sync correctly anymore. I'll be contributing.

i've given money!!!! LOOK AT MEEEEE!!!!! remember when i wanted to have my name in purple?sorry everyone, i've really been an erratic bitch over the years. i was doing a lot of drugs, and i'm not saying that to be funny. i've done enough for a long enough time (15+ years) so as to have to stop, or try and stop, permanently. or at least try to. staying clean is a daily struggle, really. i've been clean a while though.

If only calendars could have a .gif of some bouncin tit's on each month that ran on a continuous loop for 730 hours, that'd be so cool. Plus ytmnd could sell them and make enough money to put some servers on the moon, what sucks though is that nothing would ever get done. Show me a guy who can willingly look away from a gif of some bouncin titties and, well I guess i'll tip my hat or some shit.

On second thought I wish I didn't get "YTMND" tattooed on my lip. The "LOL, TATTOO" on my arm is a little embarrassing. I really regret having Sean Connery tattooed on my back though. I no longer can take my shirt of in public.

"Since the beginning of time writers, thinkers, philosophers, etc. have tried to quantify love, to put a price tag on it, if you will. To establish a standard for measuring it. Many have come up with hypothetical situations along the line of “would you take a bullet for this person” or “would you run into a burning building to try to save this person,” etc. All of those are horsesh*t, effective now.

Why? Because I’m pretty sure I have discovered the definitive standard measurement for love, and it is this: 1) recording your drunk-on-wine significant other drunkenly tell a corny joke and 2) cleverly animating that joke for all the world to see and hear on the internet. If you are not willing to do these things for someone — just as Adam Patch did — well, you just don’t love them. That is all.